Artificial hand



R. TRAUTMAN..

ART|F|CIAL HAND. APPLICATION FILED SEPT- 21, I918.

1,310,589.. Patented July 22 1919.

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ARTIFICIAL HAN'D.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 22, 1919.

Application filed September 21, 1918. Serial No. 255,136.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RAY TRAUTMAN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Minneapolis, in the county of Hennepin and State ofMinnesotahave invented certain new and useful Improvements in Artificial Hands,of which the following is a specification.

My inventionrelates to artificial hands of the type in which a pair offinger members are pivotally connected to each other and have their endsbent into hook shape, the hook ends being normally held together byresilient means for gripping articles. 'An object of my invention is toprovide a construction which will enable the wearer of the device tograsp various articles .and tools more firmly and to hold them to betteradvantage than is possible with devices of this character now in use.

The full objects of my invention will appear in connection with thedetailed description thereof and the novel features embodied in myinventive idea are particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings which illustrate the application of my invention in oneform,

Figure 1 is a view in side elevation. Fig. 2 is a view as the deviceappears looking at the bottom of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an end view as thedevice appears looking toward the right hand portion of Fig. 1. Fig. 4is a section on the line H of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of thearrow.

Referring to the drawings 10 designates the outer end of a socketmember, the inner end of which is intended to be fastened to the stumpof an amputated arm in the usual manner. main finger member is adaptedto be screwed into a screw threaded opening in the end of the socketmember. The main finger member consists of a straight portion 11 and anoflset curved portion 16 while a movable finger member consists of astraight portion 18 and an offset curved portion 20. The two fingermembers cross each other between their relatively offset portions sothat, as shown in F ig. 2, the two offset portions 16 and 20 areoppositely disposed with relation to the portions 14: and 18. Thesemembers where they cross each other are provided with registering holesthrough which passes a bolt having a notched head 22, the other end ofthe bolt being screw threaded to receive a nut 24. The movable fingerThe screw threaded end 12of amember is therefore pivoted to the mainfinger member in such a manner that wear between the parts can bereadily taken up. The straight portions 14 and 18 are normally heldtogether by any suitable resilient or elastic means such as rubber bands26 placed around the portions of the members which are on theopposite-side of the pivot from the free or outer ends of these me .1-bers. The portion 16 of the main finger member is curved upwardly, asshown in Fig. 1, to formthe curved portion 28 while the portion 20 ofthe movable finger member is curved downwardly, as shown in Fig. 1 andis also curved outwardly as shown in Fig. 2 to form the curved portion30, the double curvature of this portion being best shown in Fig. 3. Thetwo portions 28 and 30, therefore, curve in opposite directions awayfrom each other while the portion 30 curves laterally away from theplane of the curved portion 28, as will be seen in Figs. 2 and 3. Thetwo finger members are formed with hook shaped extremities 32 and 34 ofthe same radius which are flattened where they are adapted to contactwith each other and are preferably provided at this place with a milledor roughened surfacein order to provide a better grip. The offsetportion 20 of the movable finger is provided with a member 36 which iscurved downwardly substantially as far as the extremities 32 and 31 andis then curved upwardly so that its free'end is opposite the place ofattachment to the portion 20. On account of the deep curve of the member36 it forms an efiicient rest for handles of implements which aregripped by theextremities 32 and 34. The free end of the member 36 isprovided with a hole 38 in which may be secured the end of the customarycord which extends up the arm to the shoulder and which is commonly usedin devices of this character. The straight portion 14 of the main fingermem ber is provided with a hole through which is passed the upper screwthreaded end of. a hook member 40.

By means of a thumb nut 42 on its screw threaded end the hook may bedrawn up toward the portion 141 so as to firmly hold the handle ofvarious implements which it may be desirable to hold in fixed positionupon the artificial hand.

The operation and advantages of my invention will be readily understoodfrom the foregoing description. By placing the retractive means on theportions of the finger members which are on the other side of the pivotfrom the gripping extremities it results that when the movable fingerhas been opened for grasping an article and this finger is thenreleased, an increased leverage is obtained and the article will be heldwith a firm grip. ear between the finger members may be readily taken upon account of the pivot bolt being provided with a notched head on oneend and a nut on the other end. 011 account of the manner in which theportions 28 and 30 are curved they are adapted to receive between themvarious articles such as bails of buckets or handles of recep tacleswhile curved articles without handles, such as drinking glasses, may besecurely held. The formation of the member 36 provides a rest for thehandles of implements held by the extremities of the finger members sothat such implements may extend outwardly in a longitudinal direction.The provision of the hook member 40 enables the wearer of my device tosecurely hold articles such as handles of tools in fixed position withrelation to the artificial hand.

I claim:

1. An artificial hand of the hook type comprising a main finger member,a movable finger member pivoted to said main finger member, andretractive means acting directly upon the portions of said fingermembers which are on the opposite side of the pivot from the freegrasping ends of said finger members whereby said grasping ends arenormally urged toward each other.

2. An artificial hand of the hook type comprising a main finger memberprovided with an offset portion, a movable finger member provided withan offset portion, said members crossing each other between theirrespective offset portions, a pivot member extending through saidmembers at their place of intersection, and retractive means actingdirectly upon the portions of said finger members which are on theopposite side of the pivot from the free grasping ends of said fingermembers whereby said grasping ends are normally urged toward each other.

3. An artificial hand comprising a main finger member and a movablefinger member pivoted to said main finger member, said members beingprovided with hook shaped free ends and being bowed upwardly anddownwardly respectively at their portions which are between the hookshaped portions and the pivot, and one of said portions being also bowedlaterally.

4:. An artificial hand comprising a main finger member, a movable fingermember pivoted to said main finger member, said members being providedwith hook shaped free ends, and a curved member attached to one of saidfinger members between its hook shaped portion and the pivot, saidcurved member being bowed so as to extend downwardly substantially asfar as the extreme ends of the hook shaped portions.

5. An artificial hand comprising a main finger member, a movable fingermember pivoted tov said main finger member, said members being providedwith hook shaped free ends and a hook adjustably mounted on one of saidfinger members between its book shaped portion and the place ofattachment of said artificial hand.

6. An artificial hand comprising a main finger member, a movable memberpivoted to said main finger member, said members being provided withhook shaped free ends, a hook adjustably mounted on said main fingermember between itshook shaped portion and the place of attachment ofsaid artificial hand, and a curved member attached to said movablemember between its hook shaped end and its pivotal connection.

In testimony whereof I hereunto afiix my signature.

RAY TRAUTMAN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe "Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. 0.

